Hi! I'm Aunt B and this is Bella. We are about to tell you the story of Makinley the Brave Mermacorn. She had a scare happen that is still with her today.

Meow...

In 2018 Makinley was 8 years old and about to start 3rd grade. She enjoyed school and hanging out with her friends.

One day when Makinley got off the bus she told me her heart had been hurting when running around with her friends. "Oh I think you are just out of shape and you're not use to playing so hard." I jokingly said. "No! I'm serious Aunt B!" Makinley replied. "Hmm. We will keep an eye on it." I said. I didn't know it was as serious as she made it sound.

The next few weeks went by and Makinley was her normal happy self. She went to her moms house for the weekend and that is when everyone's world changed.

Makinley was at her mom's house when her heart started hurting again. She was playing with her cousins. Her mom took her to the hospital. The doctors did a lot of different test to figure out why Makinley's heart was hurting.

The doctor did not have good news. Makinley was diagnosed with Leukemia. This is a scary sickness also known as blood cancer. Makinley was not scared even though everyone else was.

Makinley had to stay in the hospital for a long time. She was just a child, however the doctor told Makinley what this sickness was going to be like. She started to worry when the doctor told her that she was going to lose her hair because of the treatment.

Makinley's favorite animal is turtles. Her nurse painted a turtle on her door to cheer her up. I told Makinley, "Slow and steady wins the race, just like the turtles you like". Makinley would wear a mermaid tale blanket and unicorn headband so we started telling her she was a brave Mermacorn. This made her laugh. It was good to see her smile.